Category: Politics
You'd have to say the current National led coalition hasn't done so badly on the economic front. Our public accounts, notably the core government budget balance, are in the best state for years. The government has foreshowed a billion dollars or so new spending initiatives, but as yet we don't know the details, including how they'll be financed.
It can be argued that it is the detractors of citizens’ democracy, like Sir Geoffrey, that are out of step with society, and that more direct participation is needed, not less. Especially at a time when nations around the world are struggling to find better ways to connect with voters and keep them engaged in the democratic process.
Sir Geoffrey Palmer dismisses Citizens Initiated Referenda - an important element of our democratic process - stating that we (the people) are deluded (!) if we think that referenda will improve the quality of New Zealand’s democracy.
Unfortunately Waitangi Day is not what it should be – a day celebrating national unity. “He iwi tahi tatou” - Now we are one people – were the words uttered by Captain Hobson at Waitangi after the signing of the Treaty on 6 February 1840. Those are the words and sentiments we should be celebrating. Instead, it has become a day of division, where fawning and kow-towing politicians seek the favour of Maori radicals.
A polite “thank you but no thank you” was the official response to a request for a meeting with Ministers Bill English and Pita Sharples to discuss constitutional issues detailed in the report A House Divided. Did the Iwi Leader’s Group get to discuss such issues directly with the government? No and yes! The next meeting is on Wednesday at Waitangi and constitutional issues may be on the agenda.
The admission that the Dunedin City Council is facing significant and long-term cost blow-outs over their new $230 million covered stadium should serve as a stark reminder that in local government bigger is not always better.
Auckland’s unfortunate political experiment in having an Independent Maori Statutory Board is being held up as a model for the rest of New Zealand’s fragmented local bodies considering amalgamation into unitary authorities.
Ideas shape nations. Many big ideas are borne out of a country’s history and tradition. New Zealand’s pioneering heritage gave us our number 8 fencing wire “we can do it” approach to life that defines our Kiwi attitude.
We have pleasure in presenting "A House Divided", the newly released report by the Independent Constitutional Review Panel. The ICRP was convened in October 2012 when it became clear that the Maori Party was using the government’s constitutional review in an attempt to entrench the Treaty of Waitangi into a new written constitution as supreme law
"A House Divided" is a new report by the Independent Constitutional Review Panel, that examines New Zealand's constitutional arrangements, and highlights the threat to race relations posed by the Maori Party's constitutional conversation. We urge every concerned New Zealander to read our report.
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